Bring Me The Head Of Arsčne Wenger! – The Sequel

By Vic Crescit Published: 1st September 2010

Arsene_Wenger_Pat_Rice

My fellow blogger on arsenalinsider.com Carl Eldridge has said most of what I wanted to say today (bastard!). I shall try not to go over old ground too much.

There are a number of calls out there in Planet Gooner’s blogosphere today which are reminiscent of Sam Pekinpah’s 1974 classic Bring Me The Head Of Alfredo García!

“Bring Me The Head Of Arsčne Wenger!” is the cry, accompanied by a creeping barrage of spat dummies and toys being launched from the pram.

There is a breed of Gooner who suffers from arrested emotional development. They seem incapable of seeing most things for what they are, a shade of grey. Let’s have it right. I’m DEEPLY disappointed that the manager hasn’t brought in a new top-drawer goalie. He appears to have identified his target early in Mark Schwarzer. I understand that he was back in Australia with his national team immediately after the end of the season, then in South Africa at the World Cup. The possible move was also made less straightforward than otherwise might have been the case by Fulham manager Roy Hodgson de-camping to Liverpool.

Fulham took a while finding and appointing his replacement Mark Hughes. This should have set the alarm bells ringing. Hughes is known to cordially detest Wenger. He was never going to do him any favours. No doubt he was laughing like a drain yesterday evening. As soon as Hughes was appointed work should have started on a plan B, C and D. It’s not as if we don’t have the scouting resources to be able to walk and break wind at the same time, as former US President Lyndon Johnson would have put it.

All this brings into question again the relationship between the manager, the chief executive and rest of the board of directors. Clearly what Wenger says goes as far as day to day squad management, team selection, tactics, training, player scouting and recruitment is concerned. That’s as it should be. No manager should be saddled with players he doesn’t want. The team manager can’t be micro-supervised or second-guessed by the club administration. That simply doesn’t work, as has been demonstrated time and time again at clubs around the world.

The board and the senior executives must make the manager accountable for his strategy in player recruitment however. I’ve said a number of times in the past that I don’t know nearly as much about football as Arsčne Wenger. I have watched well north of 1,500 Arsenal first team games since 1968 however, home and away in all competitions. I’ve been at hundreds of Arsenal reserve and youth team matches. I’ve also watched hundreds of other games following the Wales national team and as a neutral here, elsewhere in Europe, in the Americas, Africa and Asia. I presume to say I know a little about the game.

Granted, my football playing career topped out appearing in goal for my house team in intra-school tournaments at my secondary school. The only sports I had any sort of playing gift for in my younger days were rugby union and cricket. I wasn’t all that good at either of those, but I did earn a first team place by being a good trainer and attentive student of good coaching. One of the reasons I’m fascinated with football and people who play it well is it’s a gift I never had.

I think we all know that neither Manuel Almunia nor Lukasz Fabiański is good enough or consistent enough to be the permanent solution in goal for us. Don Vito Mannone is already a better goalkeeper than either of them in my view. He did make some mistakes in his brief run in the first team last season but looked a lot more confident and commanding than either of the other two. As I’ve said before Wojciech Szczęsny has the potential to be world-class. Throwing him in at the deep end at the moment would be unwise though.

All that said, it would appear that Manuel Almunia will be in goal for us absent injury or a catastrophic drop in form until at least January. Let’s have it right. It will do no good to Arsenal whatsoever to take out our frustrations on the bloke. Have you ever seen a player up his game with the crowd in his ear? I haven’t. Almunia doesn’t pick the team, the manager does. I think failing to recruit a new goalie, something the manager has had months to do is a big mistake. HUGE. I desperately hope I’m wrong. I’d be delirious to be eating humble pie next May. I’ll be cheering on Manuel Almunia and giving him every encouragement I can whenever he runs out as Arsenal’s goalie. I’m an Arsenal supporter. Why would I want him to do anything but well? There are a few Gooners who seem desperate for him to fail so they can throw a hissy fit. Those so disposed need to act their age not their shoe-size.They need to get over themselves.

I for one am sick of being written off as an “AKB” (“Arsčne Knows Best”) because I refuse to join in the calls for his head. I’ll do my thinking for myself thank you very much. Reports vary about how much the manager’s new contract is worth. One report I’ve received suggests his OLD contract was worth £7 million a year. Other media reports suggest he received a twenty percent pay rise in his new three year extension to the summer of 2014 to take him to £6 million a year. Whatever it is it’s a LOT of money. Good luck to the bloke.

The board however has to make him accountable for them for strategic reports on squad development and on-field progress. If the manager doesn’t like it, he should get over it given the extravagent salary he’s being paid. Go to Real Madrid, Internazionale, FC Barcelona or any other top club in Europe and see how much autonomy you get to run things day to day mate. Arsenal is far too big to have any one person putting themselves above the club.

Meanwhile, let’s get behind the team as we prepare for our next League game at home to the Trotters on Saturday week after the international break.

Keep the faith!

vic@arsenalinsider.com

{jcomments on}

Vic Crescit

arsenal4ever

he is a dictator!!! Great article from no AKB idiot !!!
GPeace

Good blog Vic. Football fans have been complaining about their managers before we were around and will continue to do so long after we’re six feet under.

Only one team can win every competition each year and sometimes it’s our day, others it’s not. The staggering lack of objectivity among supports still shocks me.

We’re a top European club with world-class players, a manager with a glittering CV, one of the best stadiums in the country and very secure financially. We also have an average ‘keeper between the sticks.

Why some fans think we’re in such a diabolical state is beyond me.
mjc

sequEl
kd

i believe almunia deserves a chance at least until january
Monktash

[quote name=GPeace]Good blog Vic. Football fans have been complaining about their managers before we were around and will continue to do so long after we’re six feet under.

Only one team can win every competition each year and sometimes it’s our day, others it’s not. The staggering lack of objectivity among supports still shocks me.

We’re a top European club with world-class players, a manager with a glittering CV, one of the best stadiums in the country and very secure financially. We also have an average ‘keeper between the sticks.

Why some fans think we’re in such a diabolical state is beyond me.[/quote]
and this year we’re more at risk of finishing outside the top 4 than in the last 10 years because our competitors have strenghthened and we haven’t.

So we really need to hope that a few or our “could be” sort it out.
kiwigooner

sequel….. not sequal (Roman Commune!)

But I agree, good post
Goonergerry

The accountability for failing to address a problem which he himself drew attention to lies with one man-Arsene Wenger who is as I see it is good and bad in equal measure as a football manager. Its a pity that Arsenal fans polarise into one or other- fact is he is both. great at spotting emerging talent- hopeless in the transfer market. The unambitious Arsenal Board loves him- because he makes them a massive profit by spending no money on players- the fans are sick of his B/S and false promises about new players.
Chief Gooner

Absolutely we need to get behind the team and every player in every game. anyone who doesn’t is an idiot.

but i’m afraid i’m very tired of the excuse for our activity in the transfer market. ajax were more than willing to let their keeper go up to a month ago. look at our striker situation too. if chamakh picks up an injury are we going to put arshavin up top again? just 3 weeks into the season and we only have 1 fit striker. its ridiculous.
arsene and ivan are completely full of shit and lie to the fans every transfer window. yet wenger can sign a 6million a year contract. hmmmm! that didnt take months of haggling like every transfer we try to make

total transfer outlay this summer about 4 million. and the they got the wage bill down too.
wenger is a wet dream for the board.

i’m all arsenal, my loyalty lies with arsenal, not wenger, not fabregas and not some tight fisted bunch of posh muppets on the board who cost us success because of their stinginess.
the fans frustration comes from the fact that one world class player between the sticks could be all it takes for us to win the big ones. but they cant do that year after year
agas

absolutely pathetic decisions: 1. for not buying a new goalie. 2. Koscielny,we deserved a better centre back than him, struggled against diouf? Drogba and rooney must be smiling by now, they will rip us apart. Mr Wenger it was sweet memory, but we want improvements, same reasons every season, same problems in the last 3 seasons, you never fix it. You cannot deliver anymore, at least under george graham we knew how to defends, and we never been bullied by other team. You should learn more from the man.
TJ14

Would rather have Wenger than the complete c*ck Redknapp. Yet another pearler to add to the list of classics.

‘Bayern Munich had agreed a deal for £18M to sign Van Der Vaart. Then H got a call at 4pm to tell him he could have him for £8M.’

Do spuds fans really believe the absolute shit this man comes out with??

Give me AW any day of the week.
TJ14

I disagree. We could have someone in goal who has 8 arms. If he does not have structure in front of him and a good defense, he will struggle.

I think AW realised that Koscielny was not ready just yet and the game at Blackburn showed there is work to do, so he has bought a hard as nails 30 year old, who has played in Europe, La Liga and France with bags of experience.

With him and TV and an improving Sagna and Clichy/Gibbs, maybe our defence will give the keeper more protection this year.
TJ14

Why are we more at risk?? How have United strengthened this year? And Liverpool also?

Do you call Konchesky strengthening?

Do me a favour.

We have signed 3 players, 2 who are proven internationals. Apart from Man City, who has improved?
TJ14

Are you for real? Yet another Johnny come lately. I was at Blackburn on Saturday and watched their version of ‘football’. I had to endure the same thing under George Graham. I don’t want to go back there again thanks.

I would rather see a team attack for 90 minutes, than defend.
Eesan

I Started watching EPL football from 2000 and followed arsenal since. almost became football mad when arsenal hit their peak in 2004 always on online looking for arsenal news, lost sleep before the big kick offs and so so..
i had great respect mr AW for what he had been doing for the club, his general knowledge, his footballing philosophy and the way he looks after the young players.
I think these are main reason i became an arsenal fan. but after the 2004 season i’ve noticed AW changing his attitude most notably he has been desperate prove something, doesn’t like advice from anybody, the more you request the less he will do (just like this GK issue).
its just my opinion sorry guys if iam wrong.
But I still beilive there is no other better manager to take our club forward than AW.
But he needs to understand the fans. its important to study it asap (providing his financial knowledge)
perrygrovesworld

Good piece… I don’t believe totally in an AKB I think that there is a common sense brigade that is a lot more credible and you are definitely a part of that. The doomers at Arsenal Action have deleted all of the contra dictionary postings and I have been banned so power to all reasonable debate. Lets get behind the team and get results!
TJ14

Over 50% of the fans on here were happy to see Fabregas go. Should AW really listen to the fans?

No he shouldn’t. His job is the manager, we are supporters. I, like many others would like this player or that player, but I can’t do anything about it. I have to support my team which is what I will do.

That includes supporting Almunia and Fabianski.
x vVan7ed v3

i cant believe arsenal could blame wenger for the gk. almunia is good keeper and arsene tell the board who to get and board decides how much they want to pay it not aw fault if the board are money grabbing idiots
Bretty

I’ve been thinking of late on our goalkeeping situation.

Joe Hart was 20 when he became the Man City number 1, sure he would swap duties a bit but he was the main guy.

Szczesny is 20 and seems a talent. All he needs is a chance to prove himself and we could have our new number 1.

It’s the reason Wenger was after an older keeper after all.
Iceman Gunner

Well said man. Too many idiots writing blogs without thinking.
zuri gooner

Manuel Almunia Performance last year was below what we would expect of a good keeper. Apart from which are defense was weaker compared to this season…. we always start strong and Post December we start losing our way…(Injuries, Points…) so i believe we surely are gonna get a keeper next year for free y waste the 3 million…
if the Defensive Unit is miser then a Good goalkeeper( Manuel Almunia) can do the Job… and we have the January transfer window just in case….

We will be competitive .. as far as winning it will be close… One game at a time you don’t need the best players to win.. Winning, Fighting – Mentality (from the fans and the Players)
GPeace

[quote name=Monktash]So we really need to hope that a few or our “could be” sort it out.[/quote]
What?
M.E.

This is our Team for 2010/2011 season then (until the next window in Jan 2011, if any more changes)

GK: Almunia (Backup: Mannone/Szczesny)
Would like to see Fabianski go out for a season loan @ another EPL team, to test him out.
RB: Sagna (Backup: Eboue)
LB: Clichy (Backup: Gibbs)
CD1: Vermaelen (Backup: Koscielny)
CD2: Squillaci (Backup: Djourou)
DM/CM: Song (Backup: ???Diaby)
CM/AM: Fabregas (Backup: Diaby/Denilson/Ramsey)
AM/CM: Rosicky/Nasri (Backup: Nasri/Wilshere/Rosicky)
LW/CFL: Arshavin (Backup: Vela)
RW:CFR: Walcott (Backup: van Persie)
TGT: Chamakh/van Persie (Backup: Bendtner)
jo

fuck you morrrrronnnnn
Paul N

[quote name=Goonergerry]great at spotting emerging talent- hopeless in the transfer market.

Thats a really stupid statement.

Rosicky, Nasri, Walcott, Ramsey, Chamakh, RVP, Henry, Vieira, Campbell, Lehman, Kos, Gallas, Arshavin
miles

Well I understand not being an AKB. But he has to be a dictator. you know he should be able to take responsibility for his decisions.you know he wont be able to do that if he was using public opinion
tman76

Great article. Last season we were thumped in every big game we played. Chelsea & Man U winning 3-0 & 3-1 at the Emirates was excruciating. But because we beat Blackpool 6-0 there seems to be a veneer of renewed confidence. But lets look at the facts. Everyone knows th GK situation is now a shambles and Wenger has openly criticised Almuina. EVERY team is going to try and wind Almunia up, and eventually he WILL break. Once he gives away his first blatant goal he will crumble & the media will go after Wenger big time for failing to get a top class keeper. Will this destruction of confidence spread rapidly through the defence & then through the rest of the team? Possibly, so Wenger will need to replace Almunia with….Fabianski. After 2 or 3 games with this keeper & the ominous mistakes & soft goals conceded the rest of the players, knowing that the title challenge is dead, will look to their captain for strength. Do any of you really think that Fabregas will at this satge give a damn. Hes wasted another year at the Emirates hoping that the manager (like most of us real fans) would sort out this GK problem. But Wenger has failed to do so. And trust me, it is only a matter of time before it begins to unravel & with it the demise of the entire team. Sounds extremist but remember when we played Man U at home in the CL semi final & Almunia flapped at Ronaldos free kick. Instead of PALMING the ball he wanted to PUNCH IT! 2-0 game over & after 10 minutes people started streaming out of the stadium. In ALmunias last game of last season -against Spurs – he punched the ball away THAT HE SHOULD HAVE CAUGHT. 2 seconds later the balls in the back of the net. Mathematically we could have still won the lkeague at that stage. But it all just fizzled out. Thats just 2 of dozens of mistakes Almunias made that have destroyed our hopes of silverware. The only thing Im confident about for the season ahead is that he’ll do it again and again.
Gary

[quote name=Chief Gooner]but i’m afraid i’m very tired of the excuse for our activity in the transfer market. ajax were more than willing to let their keeper go up to a month ago….. its ridiculous.
arsene and ivan are completely full of shit and lie to the fans every transfer window. yet wenger can sign a 6million a year contract. hmmmm! that didnt take months of haggling like every transfer we try to make
[/quote]Don’t you think that Wenger knew that van Stekelenburg was available? He must have considered him and decided that the players we have are better. Who are you to decide otherwise. Do you know better than Wenger? If so maybe you should write to the board and tell them that you are available to take Wenger’s job. Nice salary. Just be prepared to be criticised by every idition with access to the interenet and a keyboard.
Ehibaba

I am tired!!!!!! I am so disappointed! Wish this was a dream! I sincerely thought AW will get us a keeper, but he didnt. How can you acknowledge the fact that you have a challenge/problem and fail or refuse to address/solve it? I think the pace at which we deal is too slow. AW or whoever is in charge of that should adopt better strategies. We knew before the season ended that we needed a better keeper and defence for the next season. Why leave it half done. Brought in two defenders, sent out three(-1) and brought in no keeper! This is really and truely very sad!
For those who donot see anything wrong with what AW did,best of luck. Football is a game of passion, i wish i could be less passionate about the game so that i can share your view.
Mark Hughes

Arsene is both smart and stupid. Period.
GPeace

[quote name=Ehibaba]I am tired!!!!!! [/quote]
Then go back to a ‘God Blog’ or go to sleep.
Gunnershoot70

Fabregas please dont wste your time with wenger anymore. He’s not even serious in getting a world class keeper that befits your standard and status as a world class world cup winner. All your hard work especially last season has been wasted, and this time it looks to be the same. Can a keeper like almunia suddenly improve? at this age? Sorry, wenger has taken all for a ride..becos there’s now money but he prefers not to buy a world class keeper. So, just go in January and win titles and trophies with whichever club you choose to. Time will not wait for anyone.. so you dont have to later look back in life and regret for this unreciprocrated loyalty to wenger becos it it’s not two way anymore. Goodbye wenger, or else goodbye arsenal to 2010/11. By the way, how much is he earning, 6 -7 million?
John

Wenger was great but is not anymore.He wants to play beautiful football first and winning football second.Its amazing that a world class club like ours cannot bring in a world class keeper.Almunia is just not good enough but our worse nightmares will be if he gets injured and we will be stuck with the worse keeper ever in Arsenals history Flappy will be starting.Put Szczesny in as number 2 NOW
ncky

WE WILL NOT BE PLAYING THE TROTTERS ON SATURDAY……AT LEAST NOT THIS COMING SATURDAY.
Paddy boy

[quote name=TJ14]Are you for real? Yet another Johnny come lately. I was at Blackburn on Saturday and watched their version of ‘football’. I had to endure the same thing under George Graham. I don’t want to go back there again thanks.

I would rather see a team attack for 90 minutes, than defend.[/quote]
You will get that as long as Wenger stays as manager but what you wont get any trophies
Jayanta Das

There are few fixing crying out for last few years which could have given us trophy. GK, defencive midfielder and replacement for Clichy. Why Arsenal should not have a world class GK, Almunia won’t fit as 5th GK of Spain. Song cannot hold midfield, he is not physically strong enough. Clichy is the source of too many mistakes. How much does it cost to replace them. Arsene wenger has gone blind. If Arsenal supporters likes to think themselve on par with MANU, Chelsea, Barcelona, Real Madrid them should have quality of that kind otherwise keep chanting AKB and live in the dream world.
Spursbeatarsenal

Spurs got van der vaart. The BEST thing that will happen with keepers like almunia and flapianski (Legia Warsaw game remember?) is when Spurs beat the hell out of arsenal with such keepers. ha ha.
Paddy boy

Pretty pitty pat football then we meet Chelsea and Man Utd and we get demolished.Its been the same since 2005.Wenger wants praise for our style of football and has given up any hope of winning trophies.We only try to win 2 trophies not bothering about the domestic cups.So how the fuck are we going to compete against Chelsea and Man Utd,Barcelona,Real Madrid and Inter with a clown in goal?
ncharles

Frankly, watching 2000 games or whatever gives you no special insight, unless it is accompanied by studied analysis of the game, which few fans feel the need to do, or see the value in doing. Your experience watching games and commenting on them based on your anecdotal experiences would qualify you as a pundit, even better, since you were watching the games, rather than running around on the pitch where you would have had an even more narrow view of affairs.

Your logic seems consistent and logical, but it really shows how little anyone knows who is not inside. Certainly “Murdoch journalism” does not require facts to back up sensational headlines. You have absolutely no idea – none – about what Wenger did, tried to do, or failed to do – at least not from the British media. Yet you speak with the same certainty of a pundit talking about human intelligence and intent — none.

So I take a pass on your comments. Cheers.
Spursbeatarsenal

All wenger really wants is POSSESSION POSSESION POSSESSION POSSESSION POSSESSION forever POSSESSION… including possessing his 6 -7 million pounds!
Paddy boy

[quote name=John]Wenger was great but is not anymore.He wants to play beautiful football first and winning football second.Its amazing that a world class club like ours cannot bring in a world class keeper.Almunia is just not good enough but our worse nightmares will be if he gets injured and we will be stuck with the worse keeper ever in Arsenals history Flappy will be starting.Put Szczesny in as number 2 NOW[/quote]
Too right.If Flappy ever gets a run in the side we will finish outside the top 4.He is an accident waiting to happen
Dan

MISSING: 1 ARSENAL CHEQUEBOOK (Last seen at Highbury Stadium).
Last payment stub should read:
£3.68p – Mikael Silvestre.

Why will nobody see any wrong in Wenger?
HE SOLD THE ENTIRE UNBEATEN TEAM! AND DIDNT REPLACE THEM!
Dan the hhotspursman

HAHAHAHAHA STILL NO KEEPER U POOR LITTLE GOONERS. ALMUNIA COULDENT CACH A COLD AND FABIANSKI IS A RITE PILOCK BEHINDE DA POSTS HEEHEEE.I BET U LOT WISH U HAD WORLD CLASS GOMEZ EVEN CUDACHINI IS BETTER THAN WOT U AVE EVEN OUR JUNIERS HAVE BETTER THEN WOT U LOT AVE. JUST HERD WORLD CLASS VANDERVART ARSENAL WISHED THEY HAD DEAL CONFIRMD. GET IN THERE!!! APERENTLY ARRY RANG MOURINIO IN PERSON AND USED HIS GIFT OF DA GAB CHARM TO GET HIS MAN FOR 8MIL INSTED OF 18MIL.BASICLY I FINK WENGER COULD TAKE A LEEF OUTA ARRYS BOOK AND BE MORE OPEN TO DA MEDIA THAT WOULD MAKE HIM MOER RESPECTED WITH OTHER MANAGERS RATHER THAN BEIN CALLD A VOYER HEHEHE.
OH OH OHHHHH ITS SO GOOD TO BE A YIDs TODAY.
COOOOMMMMEEE ON UUUUUU SPUUURRRSSS!!!!
Coby Jones

The problem is the Administration needs to take up action on Wenger i dont seem to know if he also control the Administration cos i dont see a reason why you fail to land us trohies for the last five season and it the six now realy something needs to be done..Wenger him self admited that we need a top class golier so why can’t you get one even if Fulman wuld not let him go is jst the same situation at Arsenal wenger does not want to let Febragas join Barca so why do u expect Fulman to let Mark Shw too leave i have been reading the news and seem alot of keeper who are willing to paly for Arsenal but this stupid fool wenger does not want somthin g good happen to arsenal men this is rubbish he has to leave.
tommy

IN ARSENE WE RUST
Monktash

[quote name=GPeace][quote name=Monktash]So we really need to hope that a few or our “could be” sort it out.[/quote]
What?[/quote]
Badly worded. What I meant was a few of our players who AW continues to put faith in and claims are potential title winners need to prove themselves. Notably Denilson and Diaby.
Duke

Good points all round, however…
I’m starting to get disillusioned with this virtue that has been attributed to Wenger. He has been with us for years now but how many world class youngsters to we churn out or buy in young? Ajax, with all their financial woes, still produce talent like Sneijder, Van Der Vaart, De Jong, Van Der Wiel and sell them for good money. Where do our youth players end up? Jay Simpson, Bentley and even people we brought in young J Pennant!?
Wenger also comes out and informs us all about the great players he has had trialing at Arsenal but decided not to sign Yaya Toure, Cristiano Ronaldo, etc. Because they were not complete players could he not spot their potential? Vela who he spotted is struggling, Merida could not break through and was allowed to leave.
There are too numerous to mention, I am not so convinced anymore that Wenger has an eye for talent. Fabregas is an obvious one but maybe he was that good it was hard to miss?
It was Wengers signings that helped us to success (along with the talent already there) not his youth policy.
I’ll await your criticisms.
adygooner

oh please please please fucking fuck off yido scum!!! how many players have been the best thing since sliced bread over the last 15 years when the spuds brought them in? and how many actually have been? and how many consecutive years have you been in the champions league? and how many titles have you actually won over the last 15 years? fucking knob. yeah id be the first to criticise our keepers when they fuck up this season, but our club creates great players, not ruin them like one in particular that springs to mind. I wonder who that could be?!
TJ14

Irish Boy, we will get both you mug. Piss off to seven sisters and you will get neither.
TJ14

He punched it 30 yards away you dick. What more do you want?
SPURSMANDAVE

Can’t wait to see Almunia flap like a fuckin duck when we put a few goals past him at the lane….
I think this is the year we see Spurs overtake you guys and dick head wenger will get the sack for losing the plot.
adygooner

I for one am furious that we have not signed a decent GK, however like this article has sugested, we need to get behind every man on that pitch playing in a red shirt. we are Arsenal! yeah I would have loved Given, I would have even taken Schwarzer, but I will cheer Almunia on just as loudly as I would have those two. Arsene just doesnt know sometimes, but its no fault of the lads out on the pitch.
Duke

What’s happened with Almunia anyway, it was only 2 years ago people were talking about him playing and starting for England!!!?
demzdimmydemz

I cant judge arsene wenger! all of a sudden we going round thinking we was a big team before him! i thought we need a number 1. we do but ima give almunia the benefit! give him a chance. and transfers are useless.. we are not money city who buy players because they want to win so bad! belief is what arsene says and what i have. arsene is all we no who else do u think can come in and make us a better team! i dont think so! lets just see its been 3 games. two hard away games. and a nice easy home game. lets see when the likes of man city come to play and tottenham and see if they can do us damage!
Notoverthehill

It would seem to me that a considerable number of so-called Arsenal supporters should decamp to Chelsea, Manure or Citeh or even down the forbidden Lane! Even Harry the Freewheeler has to rely upon Mr.Levy to talk the talk and sign the cheques. Mr Wenger is the ONLY manger in the EPL allowed near to the cash box. That means responsibility to the Directors and shareholders.
With the 50% tax now bearing heavily on all players earnings in the EPL, no companies, no back-handers, no under-the counter deals etc. The EPL receive at the end of the playing season a form disclosing ALL payments made to the PLAYING STAFF. See Football League Rules, Form 14, Return of Players’ Wages (Rule K14). This document will be a replica of the returns to the Inland Revenue comprising Tax Years 6th April 20XX – 5th April the following year, in part. The Revenue can easily deduct and add the relevant months!! If the player moves outside the European Union, this could be a problem for the Revenue.
Mr Wenger has no wish nor desire to inflate the transfer market as has happene3d from the time of Manure outbidding all-comers in the U.K. Chelsea and Man Citeh have now made the situation a lot worse. To pay over the odds for the Fulham ‘keeper would have been stupid, stupid, stupid. Like a former Chelsea manager, most players would be asking “netto” of tax. I have done this many times.
In short, with Man Citeh always to the forefront, the best players were hoping for a call from Manchester and NOT the Emirates from Mr Gazidis. To read Mr Wenger’s comments on the transfer front, he preferred sooner rather than later completion of any transfer. Too many supporters require a better goalkeeper, who in the summer transfer window had no wish to join The Arsenal.
We have to live with the fact that Mr Wenger has a magic wand, that at the moment is not producing what we would ALL wish for!
brian gooner

I think the tranfer window has been pathetic for us with money spent only on the 2 centre backs and to a good extent reclaimed by selling Eduardo and Simpson.I personally preferred Highbury to the Emirates but bought into the move on the basis that it would provide endless money streams to make us competitive.Well it hasn’t and we were bigger spenders at Highbury than we are now so what has been the point of the move.
Old Gooner

Well Le Plonker, has led us up the garden path again. All I can say is that I think he must be incentivised to spend as little money as possible. He and the rest of the greedy board members must be rubbing their hands waiting for all the unspent money to be thrown into their pension scheme.
Disgraceful, sack the board and bring in the Fat Russian.

Old Gooner
Monktash

[quote name=TJ14]Why are we more at risk?? How have United strengthened this year? And Liverpool also?

Do you call Konchesky strengthening?

Do me a favour.

We have signed 3 players, 2 who are proven internationals. Apart from Man City, who has improved?[/quote]
Yids and City have strengthened. Chavs and Mancs are in a different league anyway.

Just have to hope that the City dressing room becomes turmoil and Yids lose pace due to Champions league.
saga sphinx

Arsenal will win the carling cup this year & arsenal doomers will point out that it’s a micky mouse cup. Then they’ll win the league & F.A. cup & those same fans will disappear. After arsenal win the champions league those fans will return resembling a devil judas & deny that they ever followed the other doomers. Then I woke up & figured that doomers will still have something to moan about even if dreams can come true. “Yeah, but… Get a new GK!!! – Wenger out!!!” blah blah blah … Some of you sound like little rich teenagers not getting those gucci shoe laces for christmas. We live in a fast food society where people complain more about the wait than the quality. Whoever can honestly say that each year we are out of it before the season even starts needs a reality check & slap of common sense. I question whether some fans are actually arsenal fans & not rivals (or even media sensationalists) tryna create discord among us fans. I am a fan who likes to bask in glory as much as the next man, but c’mon, ARE WE REALLY IN SUCH A BAD POSITION. I say some of our fans need to go out on loan to get the necessary experience from lower league clubs about what a fan & supporter of a football club really is.

Fuck’n bucket & spade fans!
IvoryGoonz

Probably AW knows already all that you wrote, and just expects Almunia to step up so that he can sell him next year fr more than £2m as it was the case.
I’d just want to point out to him that expectations is the one thing that kills relationships.
And that goes for all players.
So, yes, we must by all mean support Almunia in his attempt to meet AW and our expectations from a top 3 EPL keeper.
Although don’t be angry when/if he doesn’t meet them come end of the season.
He’s a great manager, but he’s aiming with the board for a top 4, and CL qualification money to repay debts. Not a trophy (or eventually if he’s lucky and it comes…).

Thing is repaying the debt quicker and not bringing critical players is taking its toll, and injuries I believe are partly caused by that. Expectations.

So let’s just hope for the best and a bit of resilience, the end of the managing debt era, and bring on the right spending…
Scooter

Put yourself in Almunia’s position last season. How confident would you have been with our defense? TV was still new and the other central defender was often shite in one way or another. A lack of help for Almunia is what has made him hesitant on set plays. I think that with a settled central defense Almunia will feel more confident and that will go miles in improving the entire way we defend as a time, unless of course we go on and on about saying how disappointed we are to have him as our keeper. Trust and confidence are key features of defense and must be mutual between the keeper and the back line. I think by signing Kolscielielenly and Squillialilicia we have the potential to make some progress in these areas.
Notoverthehill

To put the dampers on the Spuds!!!
Bayern WERE NEVER in the for the Dutchman, according to the Real Madrid Sporting Director vide AS. It seems the Spuds were after Diarra (?) were knocked back on this and were offered a surplus VdV as they called him in Madrid.
The chancer of a manager pretending he is a wheeler-dealer as the price tag was €11 millions.
Vic have your dig at Joe Jordan!!!
Thank heavens for Mr Wenger.
Think-on as they day somewhere or the other, we could be saqddled with a Harry the Offshore Banker!!!
Common Sensei

Hmmmm shouldn’t you be more interested in your own club and team?

I mean it is obvious that you need more defenders since your defence is actually shocking …. but Harry redknapp is more interested in Van Der Vaart who no matter how effective he is, cannot do the job of 2 good centre backs – which is what you spend most of the season NOT HAVING when old Ledley King is on his dodgey creaky knees and Woodgate is watching the training ground from the stands because he cannot train AND play like every other footballer on Earth.
Kayciey

If the board don’t support him then he should resign. I wont contain my little boy being taunted by his peers year in year out just bcoz AW cant get 1 + 1 right. No one is bigger than the club and the funs.
spq

“Go to Real Madrid, Internazionale, FC Barcelona or any other top club in Europe and see how much autonomy you get to run things day to day mate. Arsenal is far too big to have any one person putting themselves above the club.”

only reason you can say arsenal`s name in a same breath as real madrid,barcelona or inter is wenger, so wake up, there
McLuke

Manuel is not a good goal keeper, period. It matters not who the defenders are and whether they are world class.

Points dropped last season were the fault of almunia, period. Get a better keeper and we’ll have a better season, simple.

Get

G
Stevo

@jayanta – wtf are you talking about ‘Song is not physically strong enough’ he is the strongest player we have! Look at the Blackburn game, we wouldn’t have won without him on the pitch.

I think all those complaining whiny ‘fans’ should just either fuck off and become a yid or get behind your team. We don’t need fans like you! I bet yo
Common Sensei

Well he is the only keeper in the world to get through 10 consecutive champions league games without conceeding.

None of the keepers mentioned in this blog or any other has done that – and if you can call a keeper shit after pulling that off then I assume you are a 10ft tall 5ft wide octopus with reactions so quick your hands appear around the football before the game has even started
Chief Gooner

hahaha.
who is wenger to judge any goalkeeper if he has thought for 3 years that almunia is good enough to be arsenal number 1. and who also tells us fabianski is brilliant when he couldn’t catch a cold.

Arsenal have had great keepers through our history. the current batch are just an insult to that tradition
Common Sensei

Spurs have hardly strengthened! Have you even been watching or are you one of these SkySportsNews bugle players …. ? Honestly!

And how the hell have city strengthened? They sold their top goalscorer from last season (Robinho), they shipped out their no1 midfield general (Bellamy), their defence is absolutely shocking, static and disorganied, and even with over £120M worth of strikers they can’t even score against a beleagured Sunderland!!!

The City dressing room is ALWAYS in turmoil and always will be whilst Mancini ‘Hitler’ is there – NO player would like his way of treating them.

Yids ALWAYS lose pace regardless of which competitions they are in, unless they use the first 3 months of the season as a holiday like they did just during Juande Ramos’s reign.

Arsenal on the other hand bought 2 decent defenders, a decent striker, held ALL their important players.

Infact I can tell you won’t listen because you think if City and Spurs have a crap season we will somehow win more games!!! Hehehe why is that, they were NEVER in contention as we were at all!

And saying that Chelsea and United are ‘in a different league’ is just plain daft. They have more money and more players…. but as our recent results (apart from last season when we underperformed) against these teams would suggest otherwise!

Please please please somebody actually grow some brain cell and use them for something other than bitching and griping and TALKING SHIT!!! hmmmm
Dan

Amen! AT LAST SOME SANITY!

It all went down hill when the board decided on the fu*k the club were in it for ourselves path. It started with Dein getting shafted, then Nina, then the Carrs. We are no longer a club with solid owners. Fizsman lives in Switzerland, Hill-Wood does not know what day it is.
SACK THE BOARD, BRING BACK DEIN!
Chief Gooner

[quote name=Common Sensei]Well he is the only keeper in the world to get through 10 consecutive champions league games without conceeding.[/quote]
that was jens lehmann idiot
McLuke

Lol! I’m no octopus, however I do feel that 8 limbs may fail to improve manuel sufficiently to save us the points needed to mount a title challenge.

I dont want to be disrespectful, he is by all accounts a really nice chap and is committed to Arsenal. But the FACT remains that he costs us vital points and not only last season… He should not have beenbeaten at his near post at Anfield.
padoir

again and again and again, one word springs to mind when reading arsenal blogs and the comments attached these days….

Probability! Yes people, probability…. Or more specifically, the difficulty people having in understanding how hard it can be to calculate the likelihood of events happening and the causes of those events when they do happen.

Establishing causation is a lot more complicated than merely pulling out isolated facts from the bigger picture because they appear to support your entrenched position. Predicting causation even harder still.

Yes, I am an Arsene supporter (I remember the Terry Neill years.. how could I not be!)and I wont trot out the standard arguments as the battle lines are well drawn between the camps. However, I do understand the fact that the purchase of a new keeper – or lack thereof – was/is highly unlikely to be the single fact that gets us success this year, or costs us it. It is way, way more complicated than that.

Do you believe the following statement?

If at the end of the season, we are 2 points off the top of the table and in one of the final games of the season Almunia had 2 howlers, dropping 2 easy catches and losing us a game, it can definitely be said that Almunia cost us the title?

If your answer was yes, you prove my point as you just don’t get it.

Incidentally, yes I would have bought a new keeper. Do I know all the reasons why that didn’t happen? No, I don’t.. Will I be supporting the WHOLE team the Emirates this year. Yes I will.

Plus….Has everyone forgotten Schwarzer’s howlers at the world cup?? Seemingly they have
McLuke

And yes it was indeed Jens that went unbeaten for the record
berg10away

Kayciey

Grow up you twat.
McLuke

padoir – i too am an arsene supporter and having ‘enjoyed’ the terry neil years how could we be otherwise?

rather than demonstrate my knowledge of probability, or indeed lack of, lets concentrate on the point, which is supported by non probable fact.

Almunia aint good enough mate.
scooter

Thumbs down for not being an octopus
Notoverthehill

Vic! Well done Mate!!
Bottoms Up to a century of reactions YET!!!!
Durruti

Interesting blog, but one inconsistency: Statement 1 = “The team manager can’t be micro-supervised or second-guessed by the club administration. That simply doesn’t work, as has been demonstrated time and time again at clubs around the world.”
Statement 2 = “Go to Real Madrid, Internazionale, FC Barcelona or any other top club in Europe and see how much autonomy you get to run things day to day mate. Arsenal is far too big to have any one person putting themselves above the club.”
Statement 2 is precisely the point – those clubs win the Champions League because the manager does not have total autonomy. Arsenal’s structure is archaic. If there was a proper Director of Football he would have told Arsene where to get off and given him Buffon. But Directors of Football have never been given a chance iN England.
McLuke

Good point durruti
cyril

As an Arsenal season ticket holder who sits in the upper east stand, i pay more than enough to have an opinion and it is always reasonably objective bearing in mind we have not seen glory yet at Ashburton. I feel that more needs to be done to broker deals. Gazides and Wenger logically can only be on my radar in this piece. I assume it is between these guys to get busy… I would like to recommend a book called Broken Dreams by Tom Bower (updated version 2007) essentially telling stories about football corruption. In Chapter 12, pages (333-336) to be specific, he talks about brokering of the Bergkamp deal. To cut a long story short, Bergkamp was offered to Arsenal in 1995 for [wait for it] 5.5 million and the Arsenal board turned it down on the basis that ‘we do not wish to break our wage structure’. In the intervening five days David Dein was in contact with the player’s agent and brokered a deal at 7.5 million. To many many fans DB was the greatest player to grace Highbury. Now i am no ‘macro economist’ but surely we can ‘speculate to accumulate’. Oh and what a signature signing that was… ah the good ol days i hear you sigh!!
Common Sensei

Ummmm ………….. oh yeah so it was My bad!

Doesn’t change the fact that Almunia is a good keeper and was not the reason we haven’t managed a league win.
james mc daid

cryil,you have hit the nail on the head,this board are clueless,it is also why we lost Cole,Dein promised him 60.000 thousand and the board freaked,offered him 55.000 thousand and we lost the best left-back in the world for 5.000 thousand a week,ive been telling VIC that you have to spend money to make money,i am in total agreement with you,Wenger knows the board are clueless when it comes to football,he also does not rate Ivan as an expert on football,there lies the problem,Arsene has no one too answer two,and thats pathetic,Arsene needs a boss,and that man should be the man who helped make him great,that man is David Dein,Arsenal have been missing this man greatly.
Jaguar

Brilliant article.Very well put.However,I think the retarded Spuds agent Wenker is ruining our team.
Ehibaba

i feel so sorry for you, you display a high sense of ignorance. It is even worse you are doing this publicly…..too bad.
Monktash

[quote name=Common Sensei]Spurs have hardly strengthened! Have you even been watching or are you one of these SkySportsNews bugle players …. ? Honestly!

And how the hell have city strengthened? They sold their top goalscorer from last season (Robinho), they shipped out their no1 midfield general (Bellamy), their defence is absolutely shocking, static and disorganied, and even with over £120M worth of strikers they can’t even score against a beleagured Sunderland!!!

And saying that Chelsea and United are ‘in a different league’ is just plain daft. They have more money and more players…. but as our recent results (apart from last season when we underperformed) against these teams would suggest otherwise!

Please please please somebody actually grow some brain cell and use them for something other than bitching and griping and TALKING SHIT!!! hmmmm[/quote]Yids
Sandro
Gallas
Pletikosa
van der Vart

City
Boateng
Toure
Silva
Balotelli
Millner

Are our two CB signings stronger than Gallas/Campbell/Sylvestre/Senderos ?

You can’t judge a whole future season on the three first games. And that applies to us as well as any other team.

I didn’t say City and Yids doing crap means we win more games.

Our performances against Mancs and Chavs last year says it all (apart from the early away game)

You say we underperformed, I say there’s a top two. We need to break into it and challenge for the title. Then there’s us followed by Yids, City, Lpool and there’s a risk that they outperform us.

You may not agree, fair enough.
Common Sensei

[quote name=Monktash]…You may not agree, fair enough.[/quote]
You know – nobody is disagreeing with some of what you say. The fact of united and Chelsea being considered a top2 is just the status-quo based on recent results. The last 6 years one or the other has won it so it makes sense.

Saying that you can’t just wrest on your laurels in football – Wenger knows this more than most since he cops more critisism purely because he hasn’t won it in that time.

Thing is though – there is a marked difference between just buying a bunch of good players and trying to fashion a team from them. It takes more than that to become a really great team.

And looking across at Man City especially – they do not have the makings of a great team at all. Quite the contrary they have the making of a good collection of players, but are they a team?

Time will tell like you said I don’t see them winning anything and expect mancini to be out before next year
gooner4eva

@ arsenal4ever trophies aren’t won by public opinion

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